The California Wellness Foundation has announced 43 grants totaling $11.5 million to advance health equity in California.

The foundation awarded grants across its four Advancing Wellness portfolios, with a focus on preventing and interrupting community and gun violence and improving access to quality pregnancy care for low-income people of color. Through its Community Well-being portfolio, the foundation awarded core operating support grants totaling $2.3 million to organizations working to address gun and community violence, including the Center on Juvenile and Criminal Justice, which will provide research, local and statewide policy advocacy, and data-driven analyses to policy makers, movement leaders, and stakeholders focused on system-impacted youth. The foundation also awarded $1.2 million to organizations working at the intersection of racial, economic, and reproductive justice, including Expecting Justice, a Black-led collaborative that mobilizes leaders from across San Francisco to take action to improve maternal and infant health in Black and Pacific Islander communities.

In addition, Cal Wellness funded organizations providing culturally competent health services for immigrants and farmworkers, those advocating for public policies that promote equity, and experiments in better coordination of care between systems. 

“These grants reflect our commitment to working at the intersection of health and racial justice in order to advance wellness for all,” said Cal Wellness president and CEO Richard Tate. “I’m proud to continue our legacy of partnering with courageous organizations, investing in community-based strategies, and funding leading-edge thinking and practices.”

(Photo credit: Getty Images/Kali9)